


Road trip

by Marvelouswrites



Category: TF2 - Fandom, Team Fortress 2
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Gen, M/M, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Road Trip, Slow Burn, canon adjacent
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-05
Updated: 2018-06-11
Packaged: 2019-04-18 00:00:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,716
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14200497
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marvelouswrites/pseuds/Marvelouswrites
Summary: Thanks to MoreDarkMatter & Ardate for being my Beta readers!





	1. Chapter 1

Tuesday morning, 6am sharp. 

The sun had just crested the horizon of the Arizona badlands: its pale yellow light illuminating clouds of dust being kicked up by the wheels of a slightly battered camper van. Sniper was returning to base after receiving a call from Ms. Pauling the night before, something about a job in Australia.Thanks to the shitty quality of the payphone he’d been using however, some of the details had been lost to static.

Ah well, Pauling didn’t have anything up her sleeve that he couldn’t handle.

Pulling into the “secret” entrance to the base, Sniper parked his van neatly and, after securely locking it, made his way to one of the many battered doors peppering the bases’ slap-dash exterior. He went to shove the door open with his shoulder-this particular entrance had a tendency to stick if you didn’t hit it just right-but stopped when he spied the lady in question standing in a darkened alcove not too far away. Ms. Pauling, dressed in her usual purple, had her back to him, and was holding her customary clipboard. Sniper was about to call out to her when he noticed she was in the middle of a conversation with someone else.

Not wanting to be rude, of course, he pressed himself to the wall and slid along it until he was just around the corner of the alcove and listened in, 

“...and that should cover it. Thanks again.” Sniper had only caught the tail end of Pauling’s sentence, and he craned his neck to hear the response.

“No need to thank me Pauling, you are paying me after all.” said a woman’s voice, low and smooth, her crisp british accent adding sharp emphasis to to each ‘t’. 

Sniper frowned, he recognized that voice. What was she doing here?

Pauling chuckled at the dry remark, 

“Well, yes, but still...I appreciate it.” she said softly. The other woman responded but Sniper couldn't catch what she said as the door he had been about to enter earlier burst open. Soldier charged out, carrying his rocket launcher and singing the American national anthem at the top of his lungs. He stopped when he saw Sniper lurking against the wall and snapped to attention.

“Good morning Sniper!” Soldier boomed, ignoring his attempts to gesture for silence. Soldier adjusted his weapon over his shoulder and saluted.

“Doing some early morning snooping? Good show soldier! HUZZAH!” he shouted, helmet bouncing from the impact of his hand. Sniper grimaced-so much for stealth-and grumbled a rude remark to Soldier’s back as he marched off to do who knew what. 

“Oh good you’re here.” Ms Pauling said, emerging from the shadows with a slightly strained smile, a tall blonde woman not two steps behind her. Sniper casually slumped against the wall to give the impression that he had just been waiting and not eavesdropping and tipped his hat in greeting.

“Ms. Pauling, V, g’mornin’.” He said politely. 

“Good morning. Hear anything interesting?” The blonde woman -V- asked, a small smile playing on her lips. Sniper shrugged; knowing he’d been caught in the act, it was useless to deny it. In the slightly tense silence that followed, he took a moment and gave V a once over. She looked the same as she had when they’d met months prior, right down to the trenchcoat and inscrutable smile. Pauling sighed and looked at her clipboard, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her short nose. 

“Well, nothing to hide here,” she said a little too forcefully, before pulling a piece of paper off the clipboard and handing it to him. He took it and turned it around; a mission briefing, neatly typed and with a few handwritten notes in the margins. Sniper read it carefully, before taking off his sunglasses and reading it again. 

“Australium thieves? You sure? They’d have to be pretty bloody foolish to steal from ‘er.” he said, pointing at the paper with the arm of his glasses. By ‘her’ he meant The Administrator; their mysterious bankroller and by all accounts a seriously dangerous woman. Pauling sighed again, tucking a strand of black hair behind her ear as she said,

“Unfortunately, yes. Someone broke into what we thought was a secure vault in Australia and stole about a metric ton of the stuff.” She grimaced and her grip on the clipboard tightened. Sniper raised his eyebrows and let out a low whistle,

“That ain’t a small amount. Should be easy to track though, ain’t easy moving that much of anythin’, let alone the most valuable resource on the planet.” He said. V nodded and glanced down at an identical paper she held loosely in her left hand.

“Precisely, we should have this taken care of in no time.” she said calmly. Sniper felt his eyebrows raise even higher, now probably hidden under the brim of his hat.

“We?” he repeated incredulously, looking to Pauling for an explanation. Pauling gave him an odd look,

“Yeah, remember? I called you yesterday about this. I would go but there’s another even more urgent thing I need to take care of.“ She said with a dark expression, her small hands tightening around the clipboard as if she were strangling someone. Sniper grimaced,

“An’ why can’t I just go take care of this meself?” he said flatly. Pauling sighed and shot a glance at V, who was examining her nails and seemed decidedly uninterested in the conversation. 

“Again, I told you this over the phone? Where you even listening-whatever, I’ll just tell you again. Basically, if even one piece of this Australium isn't returned, The Administrator will have my head,” she rubbed at her throat as if imagining what it would feel like to suddenly lose about 10 pounds. She cleared her throat and continued,

“Not saying that I don't trust either of you, but, just consider it an extra precaution.” she said, giving him smile that was just a little strained. Sniper did not return the smile.

Damn and blast that bloody payphone and its shitty connection; this was the sort of thing he’d have liked to avoid. If it had been Pauling going along that would have been alright. They got on well enough and more than likely she’d have been busy working the whole time. 

This was a whole ‘nother situation, and one that he was not entirely comfortable with. Partially because he didn't know V from adam, and partially because she was attractive, and attractive people put him on edge.  
Well, more on edge than he usually was anyway. 

Pauling clapped her hand to the clipboard and broke the awkward silence, 

“Welp, I’ve got things to do, paperwork to fill out and bodies to bury. Call me when you get there!” she said briskly, and with a wave, walked away. Sniper put his sunglasses back on with a huff and straightened up. He took another look at the paper she had given him, uncomfortably aware that V was staring idly at her own paper not two feet away. 

Be polite, be professional; that was his mantra and it had served him well in the past, best stick to it.

“Ever been to ‘straya?” he asked, a little stiffly. 

“Hm? Oh. No, never. Although I’ve heard it’s lovely this time of year; marvelous weather.” V responded, still eyeing the paperwork. Sniper almost chuckled; how very British.

“It is, if you don't mind the heat.” he said. 

“I’m quite fond of hot weather actual, it’s a nice change of pace from what I’m used to.” She replied.

“Rains a lot in England, does it?” He asked idly. 

“It does, yes.” V remarked, looking back to the mission briefing. Good small talk, this; nice and bland. Just the thing to kick off a professional working relationship, Sniper thought to himself as he looked at his own paper again, although he had already read it twice. The “secure vault” Pauling had mentioned was located square in the middle of the Outback-getting there would be no mean feat. He crossed his arms and held the sheet of paper to the morning light, squinting at one of the notes Pauling had written in the margins in her tight, neat hand.

“Distinct tire tracks left at scene; possible lead?” Distinct? What did that mean. He flipped the page over, looking for a photo or some other clue; there was nothing. He frowned. Real helpful, this briefing was. Sniper glanced over as he saw V reach into her pocket and pull out an envelope, 

“Photos, of the tire treads,” she said as she handed the envelope to him,

“I had the same reaction; why she never remembers to attach photos is beyond me.” V said with a shake of her head, blonde hair catching the early morning light. She tucked a lose strand behind one rather large ear and continued,

“There’s more, the name of a contact near the vault’s location, and she’s chartered a plane.” she said as he flipped through the envelopes contents, finding three black and white polaroids and pulling them out. He looked at the first one, a low angled image that showed the length of the tracks, and then examined the other two. 

“Well, ‘distinct’ is one way of putting it, these look like-,” 

“Tank treads,” V finished his sentence for him, expression mildly abashed as she realized she’d cut him off.

“Oh, sorry,” she gave a slightly awkward smile, and Sniper quickly turned his face away before muttering

“S’fine,” He cleared his throat and continued,

“A tank’d be one way to move the bloody stuff; ain’t exactly subtle though.” he said,These looked kind of small for a tank though. He stuffed the pictures back into the envelope and found the paper with the flight details. He grimaced.

“This says we gotta leave now.” He grumbled. Great, no time to prepare; not his stuff, he was always ready to move at a moment's notice, but his mind. He always travelled alone, and the idea of a days-long road trip with a dangerous woman he barely knew was not something he was looking forward to. 


	2. Chapter 2

The plane was a private affair, large enough to load Snipers van in the cargo bay, hired out by Pauling to get them across the ocean in short order. The pilot was a chatty bloke; although he gave up trying to engage Sniper in small talk when he got less than enthusiastic responses, settling for chattering on about the cloud formations and recent weather. Sniper tuned him out entirely, staring out the window

It had been a while since he’d been home, and if it weren't for the company that had been forced on him, he might have even considered dropping in to visit his mum and dad. Sniper cast a subtle glance over his shoulder to the skinny back seat. V sat easily in the cramped space, and seemed to be writing something, perhaps taking notes. She shifted her weight and the paper slid down her lap, revealing it to be a mostly filled in crossword puzzle. She pulled the paper back into position and idly tapped her pen against the seat. The pilot craned his neck around and smiled at her.

“Comfy back there?” he asked cheerfully. V looked up to see both men looking at her.

“Fine, thank you.” She said calmly, filling in a letter. The pilot nodded,

“Yeah, the ol’ girl’s got a surprising amount of legroom back there.” He paused, waiting for some kind of response and when none was forthcoming asked, 

“What’cha working on?” V wrote another letter, possibly a ‘D’ before replying,

“A crossword puzzle.” The pilot nodded enthusiastically.

“Oh I love those! What’s left maybe I can help. Still got a few hours left before we land.” He grinned, his sunglasses were pushed up on his cheeks with the expression.  
V sighed and looked back up. 

“A five letter word that means ‘idiot’.” She said.

“Scout.” the joke was out of Sniper’s mouth before he could help himself. V’s lips twitched into a smile and she wrote it down.

“Well what do you know, it fits.” She said dryly, Sniper chuckled and the pilot looked at them both.

“Inside joke?” 

 

The next few hours were surprisingly pleasant; the pilot continued to pester V about the crossword puzzle and between the three of them it and another two were filled in. V apparently carried an entire book of them with her, producing it from a hidden pocket inside her jacket. 

They landed and disembarked without incident in an empty field far from anything else. Secrecy was not a top priority on this job, but it never hurt to be too careful. After the pilot had waved and yelled a cheerful goodbye over the road of the plane’s engines he took off into the fading daylight. 

Sniper watched the plane disappear, starting to feel less than pleased about the situation again. Their destination was at least a three days drive from where they had landed, and that was only if they drove basically non-stop.

Three to four days of awkward, close quarters driving with V. He sighed and closed his eyes, trying to mentally prepare himself for what was sure to be one of the most nerve-wracking half weeks he’d ever experienced and then rolled his shoulders slightly.

“Alright let’s get to it.” He grumbled, his nervousness making him slip back into an irritated tone. V adjusted her coat and shrugged,

"Lead the way." She gestured to his van, which he'd backed onto the hard packed dirt and scrubby grass of the field. They climbed inside and Sniper shut the door, clicking his seat belt into place with a little more force than was probably necessary. As V settled onto the other end of the bench seat and fastened her own seat belt he berated himself for not keeping this damn van cleaner. Brushing a couple of cigarette butts out the open window he cleared his throat.

“Roight, so, we’ve got a bit of a drive ahead of us.”

“Alright, and by ‘a bit’ I’m assuming you mean hours.” She said, and he almost laughed,

“Nah sheila, days.”  
V raised her eyebrows and blinked,

“Ah. Yes, of course.” She looked out the smoke stained windshield-he hadn't cleaned that in a long time-and let out an almost imperceptible sigh. That little sound clued him in to the fact that she was just uncomfortable with the situation as he was; oddly, that made him feel a little better.

He started the van and it rumbled to life. No time like the present.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to MoreDarkMatter & Ardate for being my Beta readers! 

"Forgive me for sounding like a tourist, but my god what a view."  
It was morning, they had driven all night and the dark sky was giving way to warm yellows and pinks. The pale sun was filtering through the early morning fog, thin beams of light stretching down to the scrubby grass of the Australian outback. V was looking out the passenger side window, clearly entranced by the view.

"Heh, no need, nothing beats a good ol' Ozzie sunrise." Sniper said with a half smile, leaning forward to squint out the windshield. It had been far too long since he'd been home. He settled back in the seat and pushed up his sunglasses to rub at his eyes. He'd been at the wheel all night, and was beginning to feel hazy. Sniper was used to long drives, but he usually pulled over every few hours for a quick cat-nap. He'd been reluctant to do so with V along for the ride, especially since she had apparently been awake for just as long, and was showing no signs of tiredness. They hadn't talked much since getting off the plane, but the silence had quickly settled into something akin to comfortable; the radio was playing quietly-a Tom Jones song-and the rumble of the van's engine filled the cab. They continued to drive along in silence as the morning stretched into day. As the sun climbed steadily higher the temperature rose as well, prompting Sniper to roll down the window and rest his arm on the door.

"So, how do you know Pauling?" he asked idly, remembering the conversation he'd half overheard the previous day. V turned away from the window and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear,

"We've worked together in the past."

"Really? That through Mann Co.?" he asked, not surprised to hear that they knew each other through work. That was all Pauling seemed to do. V shook her head, the bit of hair coming loose again.

"No, it was an...unrelated job." V frowned slightly as she attempted to tame the stray lock of hair one last time.

"Hm, " he said, thinking it had probably been some shady dealings with the Administrator. Pauling had been working with the mysterious woman for a long time according to the limited amount of information he'd had been able to dig up. He made it a point to try and find out as much as possible about the people he worked with, to ensure he had a good grip on the situation and a little blackmail material in his back pocket never hurt. He cast a subtle glance at V, who had returned her attention to the landscape passing by.

Not long after they'd first met, V had made a comment on how she'd seen his shooting first hand, but he had no recollection of ever seeing her before then; down the scope of his rifle or otherwise.  
The comment had stuck with him and so he'd done some digging, looking for any clue as to where he may have run across her.  
He'd found nothing. Well, not nothing exactly, but nothing personal, nothing that he could use against her if necessary, no history at all. No close friends, just a few previous associates who had either fallen off the map or were dead; no driver's license, no criminal record, hell he hadn't even been able to find out her real name. He'd looked for the tell-tale signs of someone erasing their identity; the weird blank spots that were left when someone attempted to cut themselves out of their past, but there was nothing.  
It was like she didn't really exist.

"What?" V was looking at him, and raised her eyebrow as she caught his eye. Sniper cleared his throat,

"Gonna need to stop soon, fill up the tank, get some coffee and maybe a bite to eat." He said. V nodded,

"Alright." and she went back to looking out the window.

 

It was a fair few miles to the next little town, and they coasted into the gas station on a completely empty tank. Sniper parked the van next to the dingy pump, muttering to himself at the price of gas and climbed out of the vehicle, rolling his shoulders back and forth to ease the stiffness in his back. He heard the passenger side door close and looked over.

"There's a pub here I think." V said, nodding her head towards the narrow building at the back of the lot. There was a scuffed sign above the door, the paint faded to such an extent he couldn't read the words, and a flickering open sign hanging in one of the windows.

"I'll get us some seats." V said, and walked towards the door. He nodded and went to fill up the tank.

A few minutes later, the bell above the door tinkled and Sniper walked in to the little restaurant, although you could barely call it that. Half the little building was taken up with a convenience store - rickety metal shelves lined with snacks, magazines and road trip supplies. The other half consisted of a bar and three booths. He could see the back of V's head in the last one and he strolled over, nodding politely to the woman behind the cash register. He slid into the seat opposite V and took of his hat, setting it on the worn leather seat next to him. Almost immediately a waitress appeared,

"What can I get ya?" She asked, snapping her gum. V had been going over the single sheet of paper that probably counted as the menu here but looked up as the waitress spoke.

"A cup of tea, with cream please." She said. The waitress raised her eyebrows at V's accent but nodded, then turned to Sniper,

"You?"

"Coffee, two sugars."  
The waitress popped her gum again and walked behind the bar, pulling down two mugs from a rack hanging on the stained wall. Sniper shook his head and grabbed the other menu sitting on the table, browsing the limited selection. He stifled a yawn and looked over to see where the waitress had gotten to. There was no one else in the little shop, so she must have gone into the kitchen. He set the menu down and leaned back in the seat, rubbing one hand along his stubbled jaw as he stared at V, trying to place where he may have seen her before. After a second she looked up over the menu at him.

"Something on your mind?" She asked mildly. He frowned,

"Jus' trying to figure something out-when we first met, you said you'd seen my shooting first hand before; can't bloody place you though." He paused and pushed his sunglasses down the bridge of his nose to peer at her over them,

"And I think I'd remember if I'd seen you before-you're pretty hard to forget." V raised an eyebrow, that inscrutable smile back on her face. She set the menu down and reached into her pocket for a cigarette, tapping it against the table before lighting it. Putting it to her lips, she took a puff before replying,

"I don't suppose you recall a particular contract you took on a few years ago? " she said, the smile a little wider. The waitress reappeared just then, sliding two steaming mugs and a small carafe of cream onto the table and then left again to take care of a customer that had just walked through the door. Sniper waited until the woman was out of earshot before replying,

"Maybe, how long ago you talkin'?" He said, pulling his sunglasses off and twirling them around as he tried to place what she was talking about.

"Oh six or seven years ago at this point, in Madrid? Wealthy gentleman who had neglected to pay off some rather large debts?" V stubbed out her cigarette in the ashtray on the table and poured a small amount of cream into her tea. She stirred it gently, the clink of the spoon against the ceramic loud in the near silent diner. Sniper scratched at his chin,

"Rings a bell; Tough job that, bloke had some ace bodyguard." He crossed his legs-a difficult feat in the cramped booth but he managed-and shrugged.  
He did remember, the man had borrowed some money from some very dangerous people and attempted to skip out on the bill. The job stuck out because it had been much, much harder to complete than he'd originally bargained on, and ended up getting twice his original fee for his trouble.

"Didn't matter, got 'em both in the end."  
He was still proud of that shot, one bullet for both targets. The mark had been crouching behind his bodyguard, a skinny person of indeterminate gender who had foiled two of his previous attempts to shoot the bastard they were protecting.  
So when he had them cornered and saw that bullet make its way through the bodyguard’s stomach and then out the back of the mark’s head; Sniper had nearly crowed with triumph.

V smiled at him over the lip of her mug  
"Oh I wouldn't be so sure; I wore my hair much shorter back then, but I seem to be doing fairly well."  
Sniper set his glasses on the table and leaned forward, pointing at her,

"...You're joking, I shot 'em through-"

"Through me yes. Let's just say you left a rather lasting impression; no more bikinis for me."

Sniper curled his finger back and stared at her as she took another sip before setting the mug down and reaching for another cigarette. He shook his head, a low chuckle building in his throat as he pulled out his own lighter, flicking it on and holding it out for her,

"Roight, as if one scar would make you look terrible in one."  
The words slipped out of him before he could stop himself. V leaned back and tilted her head to the side, and the expression on her face seemed almost flirtatious,

"Well, you'll never know now, will you?" she said with a hint of a smirk, and Sniper felt a crooked smile creep across his own face. Well, today was turning out to be full of surprises. He leaned back and lit a cigarette himself, draping an arm over the back of the booth seat.

"So, what d'ye know about this contact we're supposed to be meetin'?" he asked, still smiling. V reached into one of the many pockets inside of her coat and pulled out the envelope from Pauling.

“He’s a local that had been hired to keep an eye on the vault; they didn't tell him what was inside of course, but he sustained an injury during the robbery.” She shuffled through the papers and pulled out a small note card with a picture attached and handed it to him.

“He claims to have been assaulted by a metal man. Whatever that means.” She shrugged, tapping the ashes from her cigarette onto the ashtray. Sniper rubbed at his eyes again before squinting at the photo.  
Their contact was a middle aged man with a huge bushy beard and wild eyes peering from beneath a broad-brimmed hat. In the picture he was standing next to a twisted and burnt tree stump. 

“Looks like a crazy bastard,” He muttered as he read over the note card.  
The man’s name was Julius Morrel, and he was apparently a UFO enthusiast.

“Bloody brilliant: where does Pauling find these people.” Sniper grumbled and he heard V chuckle,

“Probably the same place she dug you and I up.” She said with a hint of a smile. He looked up at her with an mildly indignant expression 

“Excuse me, I happen to be a professional.”  
V’s smile twitched a little wider,

“I never said you weren't.” She replied and he chuckled again. The waitress came back, still snapping her gum and Sniper turned the photo face down onto the sticky booth top.  
She took their order and wandered back to the kitchen, slapping the piece of paper she'd scribbled on on to the counter.  
Once she had gone, Sniper flipped the photo back over and took another sip of his coffee. 

“We meetin’ this bloke on his farm, yeah?” He said, pointing with his cigarette and getting ash on the table.  
He brushed it away and sighed,

“Should be there in a day or two, provided nothin’ bad happens along the way.”  
V looked at him askance,

“I do hope you didn't just jinx us; I don't usually ascribe to superstitions but-”  
As if on cue, there was a shriek and they both craned their necks to see as someone came barreling through the shop door, the little bell jingling like mad as it swung against the glass. 

“Chrissake Jimmy! What the hell you yellin’ for?!” the waitress snapped, poking her head around the kitchen door.  
Jimmy, a kid of probably no more than sixteen was wild eyed and shaking,

“I saw somethin’ out there Lissa!!”  
He yelled. The waitress -Lissa- pushed the swinging door open and stormed through, hands on her hips as she stopped in front of Jimmy.

“Oh, right. What was it this time? Aliens? A wizard with a skull for a hat?” she snapped, chewing her gum with such force Sniper was surprised it didn't fly out of her mouth.  
Jimmy shook his head, pointing out the door,

“Some kinda mechanical man!! Right out there by the gas pumps! Just appeared in a cloud of smoke and then vanished!!” 

V raised an eyebrow as Sniper caught her eye. This was turning out to be an interesting day indeed.


End file.
